The Beginning Days of Canada's Pursuit in Space -- The Start of the First Communications Satellite

摘要

Canada began space exploration in 1958 with a focus on telecommunications. Sufficient time has passed enabling a reasonable perspective to be extracted. The space program, in particular the renowned technological success of the first satellite, Alouette I, launched four years later, proved to be one key element driving subsequent socioeconomic development. More satellites followed, a domestic communications carrier was established, and a vibrant electronics industrial sector evolved. The paper traces these events linking them to the present, which finds Canada in the global high technology mainstream.